Digging Up Ghosts, And Demons
by purplepagoda
Summary: Detective Benson's past comes to light. What happens when her partner finds out that she was once a victim? Will he be able to help her, before it's too late? Can she help a girl who is the object of a maniacal murderer, and rapist?
1. Faith

He finds a young woman sitting at his desk. He takes a seat, and carefully places his hot cup of coffee on his desk.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for detective Benson," she replies.

"I'm her partner, maybe I can help."

"No I need to speak with her."

"Ok. She should be back in just a few minutes."

"I'll wait," she agrees taking a seat in a chair next to Olivia's desk.

"Ok."

Ten minutes later Olivia returns with lunch. She finds Elliot at his desk. He looks up when he hears her footsteps.

"Liv?"

"Yeah?" she questions as she approaches him.

"This young lady would like to talk to you," he announces.

She places the bag of take out on her desk. She approaches the girl.

"You're detective Benson?" the young woman asks.

"Yes," Olivia confirms.

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Elijah Keller."

Elliot watches Liv. Olivia looks at the girl. He can tell the that she recognizes the name by the look in her eyes. The look on her face tells him that it's something serious. Olivia nods, and points to the stairs.

"Let's go talk," she agrees.

The young woman follows Olivia up the stairs. Olivia takes a seat at the table. The young woman sits in a chair next to her.

"I didn't catch your name."

"My name is Faith."

"Ok Faith, what brought you here?"

"Elijah Keller."

"Has he done something to you?"

"Not yet."

"What do you mean, not yet?"

"He has sent me letters. He has been following me."

"How do you know?"

"He sent me pictures."

"Why?"

"He wants to make me disappear."

"He wants to kidnap you?"

"No, he wants to kill me."

"Why?"

"Are you aware that South Carolina has no statue of limitations?"

"Yes I am aware of that, why does it matter?"

"You know who Elijah Keller is, don't you?"

"Yes, I know," she says flatly.

"Look Detective Benson... you are the only one who can help me. You know what he is capable of."

"Why does he want to kill you?"

"Without me there is no evidence of the crime that he committed. All of the physical evidence against him was destroyed in a fire six years ago."

"How did he find you?"

"I started digging up things, that should have remained buried. Some secrets, are better left as secrets."

"Why you?"

"You are familiar with Elijah Keller's crimes?"

"Assault, and battery, DUI, attempted murder, rape, murder, kidnapping, and criminal trespassing," she rattles off his rap sheet, as if she has it memorized.

"I am the only thing standing in his way. They were able to tie him to all of the crimes. They didn't have the tools to prove it was him, when they did obtain the tools an arsonist conveniently burned down the storage unit where the evidence against him was being housed."

"Should I add that to the list?"

"I am sure it was him."

"So why does he want you dead?"

"I'm the only proof that any of it ever happened. Some of the detectives, they have their personal files, some crime scene photos, notes, witness statements, but that is not enough to arrest him. They need evidence, DNA proof."

"I don't understand."

"I was adopted. Recently I have began to wonder who my biological parents were, what my story was. I never should have started asking questions. I learned things that I didn't want to know. Elijah Keller raped my biological mother. Almost nine months, to the day, before I was born. She gave me up for adoption. He beat her so badly that if the people in the condo next to hers hadn't arrived home a day early, she would be dead. DNA confirmed that he is my biological father. The detectives want to reopen the case. They think it is enough to convict him."

"I don't know how I can help."

"Make him go away. You know the story, you know what he's done, what he is capable of. You are the only one who can stop him."

"Do your parents know?"

"Yes. They think that I am paranoid, that no one is following me. That he isn't trying to kill me, they think that the pictures I showed them are photoshopped, or that... someone else took them. They don't believe me."

"Do you have the pictures with you?"

Faith nods, she pulls a manila envelope out of her bag. She hands it to Olivia.

"The first letter I opened, the ones that followed I opened with gloves."

"Why are you here now?"

"My parents went out of town for the weekend. I will be home alone, with my twelve year old brother. He is not going to protect anyone. He falls down the stairs every morning. We have lived in the same house his entire life, and he still doesn't realize that there are sixteen stairs, not fifteen."

"Where is he now?"

"He is staying with a friend."

"Faith..."

"I don't need you to say anything. I just need you to find him. That is all I am asking. That is all I need from you."

"Ok," Olivia agrees.


	2. Cruelty

Olivia waits on her computer guy to finish analyzing the pictures. Finally he finishes.

"Well, are they real?" she questions.

"They are authentic," he reveals.

Olivia points to the screen. In the photo is a window.

"Can you show me who took this picture, using the reflective surface of the window?"

"I can try."

He enhances the image.

"That's him. Can you print that?"

"Of course."

She grabs the picture, and heads back to the squad room. Her cell phone rings as she's stepping of the elevator. She finishes her phone call before she reaches the phone call.

"So does her story check out?" Elliot questions.

Olivia hands him a picture, "Yes. He was following her."

"Do we know who he is?"

"Elijah Keller. I need to find him, before he finds her."

"Liv, are you sure?"

"DNA was just confirmed."

Hours later Elijah Keller is picked up. Fin tosses him in an interview room. Elliot, and Olivia stand outside the room.

"I'll go," Elliot offers.

"You can go with me."

"Why do I get the feeling that you have a personal vendetta against this guy?"

"Maybe I do."

"Are you going to ruin this case?"

"What case? We're still waiting on case files from South Carolina. All we have him on right now, is stalking."

"So how are we going to get him to confess?"

"Give me a minute alone with him."

"What are you going to do to him?"

"Nothing. Just give me a minute, and them follow my lead."

"Ok," he agrees.

Olivia takes a deep breath, and then moves toward the door. She opens the door to the interview room, and pushes it open. She steps into the room. She closes the door behind her. Elliot watches, and listens from the other side.

Elijah stares at the floor. She stands in the doorway for a moment. She then walks over to the table. She pulls out the chair, and sits down. She stares at him.

He stares at his shoes. "I'm not saying anything," he informs her.

"Don't say a word," she taunts.

His head jerks up. He stares at her in disbelief. She sits across the table from him, calmly waiting.

"You didn't think that you would see me again, did you?"

He doesn't answer. "You can't be in here. You can't interview me."

"I can do whatever I want. I can say whatever I want. I can ask you whatever I want. And you better answer me."

"Not if you want this to end in your favor."

"You're right," she nods, "I guess I'll have to let my partner do the talking, but you should know he is very protective. Just wait until he sees that file. He will not show you any mercy."

"I'm not guilty."

"We both know, that is a lie," she pushes out her chair, and walks away from the table. She exits the room. Elliot stares at her in confusion.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"Give him a minute to stew, I'll be right back. I'm just going to my desk," she promises.

He nods. She goes to her desk. She pulls opens the bottom, left-hand drawer. She lifts up all of the documents, and clutter inside. She pulls out a file on the very bottom. She closes the drawer, and returns.

He points to the file, "What's that?"

She hands it to him, "The file we need."

"I thought that we were waiting on the file from South Carolina."

"This file is better."

"You want him to think I have the file?"

"No, that is the original file, a copy of it. Not everything was lost in the fire. This contains everything that you need to know."

"How did you get this? Why do you have this?"

"When was your last vacation?"

"I don't know? When was your last vacation?"

"My last vacation was seventeen years ago, I went to Myrtle Beach. The weather was terrible. The drive was worse. And a maniac was on the loose while I was there. There is a reason that I haven't been on vacation since," she reveals. She walks past him. She steps into the interrogation room. She pushes the chair against the wall, under the window. She takes a seat on it. She just stares at the criminal on the other side of the room.

"Do you expect me to reveal something, to you?"

"No. I am just sitting here, waiting for my partner."

"Waiting for what?"

"For him to finish reading the file."

"What's left of the file? It must be pretty thin by now."

"I have the original, well a copy of the original."

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

"How would you get a copy of that file?"

"That is the benefit of being a cop. You didn't know I was a cop, did you?"

"It's kind of obvious."

"Before recently?"

"I hadn't met you, until recently," he replies coyly.

"My partner reads pretty fast. He's going to read the file, and he's going to come flying in here, and I'll probably have to restrain him. His temper gets the best of him sometimes."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to. You don't have to say a word. I know what you did. I know who you are."

"And it kills you, that I am never going to be brought to justice?"

"You are a monster. You will get what you deserve."

Elliot sits outside the room, flipping through the file. He flips through pictures of the crime scene. He begins flipping through photos of the victim. Her broken, bloodied, bruised ankle. Her smashed toes. Her bruised knee caps. Bruises on her legs. Bruises on her waist. Ligature marks on her wrists. Cuts on her palms. Pieces of broken glass, embedded in her hands, and arms. Hand prints on her upper arms. A hand print on her neck. He flips to the next picture. A wound to the neck, near the artery. An earlobe, with the earring clearly ripped out of it. He stares at her swollen face. Pieces of glass in her chin. A split, swollen lip. A bloody nose, out of alignment. A bruised cheekbone. A black eye. A cut to her eye brow. A gash to her forehead. Each injury is documented separately. He flips to the final picture, one of her whole face. And that's when his blood boils.


	3. Mistakes

All of the pieces fall into place. He closes the file, and prepares himself to go into the room. How she could restrain herself, was not something he could understand. He makes his way into the interview room. He closes the door behind him. He hands Liv the file. He walks over to the table, and shoves it out of the way. Nothing stands between him, and Elijah Keller. His nostrils flare, and he clenches his fist. His jaw tightens, and he stares a monster in the eye.

"So you get off on raping, and beating, and killing women?"

Elijah doesn't answer.

"Tell me what happened, seventeen years ago."

"You have the file Detective, why don't you tell me?"

Elliot stares at the man. He didn't look like a monster. He was an attractive man. Sandy blonde hair, big blue eyes, a nice toothy smile. He was tall, muscular. He was someone women gave a second glance. Beneath it all was a monster. Beneath the charm, and the good looks was a black, lifeless, soul.

"You're right, I have read the file. I know what happened."

"You do?"

"It was late January, nineteen ninety three. You were at a bar. You had been noticed by several women, but there was only one you were interested in. She didn't seem to even notice you, and that made you angry. So you walked up to her, and offered to buy her a drink. It was getting late, and she was on vacation, so she agreed. What she didn't know is that your family had money, you had a lot of resources at your disposal. You had the bartender in your pocket. You had him slip her something, in her drink. She wasn't feeling very good, so she agreed to let you drive her back to the condo she was staying in. Not long after you got to the condo, she passed out. When she came to, you had her tied to the bed.  
>She was not going to be a victim. She fought you. You weren't used to your victims fighting you so much. You hit her head, with a lamp, and she lost consciousness. You raped her. But before you could leave, she woke up. She fought, and you fought back. She managed to get loose. You tripped her. She got back up. You kicked her, she kept going. You ripped her earring out. It didn't stop her. You had finally met your match.<br>You wrapped your hands around her neck, and shoved her against a wall. You punched her, in the face, four times. Once to the eye, once to the cheek bone, once to the nose, once to the lip. She couldn't breathe, so you let go. You thought that she would give up, but she caught her breath, and she tried to get away. She tried to run. You pushed her into a coffee table. She was bleeding, she hit her head, and she passed out.  
>You thought that she was dead, and you felt powerful. It made you want more. You enjoyed torturing her. You enjoyed killing, but she wasn't dead. You thought she was dead. Until a few months ago. A few months ago, you found out the truth. She wasn't dead. She was alive. So you had to make the evidence disappear, all of it."<p>

"This is a very compelling story, but none of it is true," Elijah replies.

"Yes it is," Elliot argues.

"How are you going to prove it?"

"I have all the facts, right there, in that file. You found out that there was something you didn't know. Something, someone who could put the nail in your coffin. A seventeen year old. A seventeen year old, with half of your DNA. She could prove it, even if most of the evidence was gone. She could prove that you raped her biological mother, and tried to kill her. There was no arguing with that. She was real, she was alive, and you couldn't stop it. You were finally going to go away, for a long time. So you decided that the only way to keep that from happening, was to kill her. To silence her. To make her disappear, so that no one could find her. No one could ever know the truth."

"Did Detective Benson tell you all of this?"

"Detective Benson? She didn't tell me anything. I read the file. I saw the pictures. I read the lab reports. I have seen all of the evidence. I know that you're guilty. I know that you are not going to get off the hook. You are going to go to prison for the rest of your life. She wasn't your first, and she wasn't your last. You have killed fifteen. If you had it your way, it would be seventeen. You learned how not to leave any evidence behind, how to keep from getting caught, but you made a couple very big mistakes."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Committing crimes in states with no statues of limitations, and by choosing the wrong woman to try, and kill. You tried to kill a cop. Juries, do not like that. Juries see someone trying to threaten the people sworn to protect them, their blood boils."

"You are bluffing."

Elliot returns the table to the center of the room. He grabs the file from Liv. He thumbs through it. He pulls out the last picture. He slams it on the table.

"Does that look like a bluff? Does it?"

Elijah stares at the picture in silence. Elliot watches him. He points to his face, "That looks like guilt, to me."

"I want a lawyer."

"Good luck, with finding one. I doubt that you can find a lawyer who will touch you."

"Like you said Detective Stabler, I have a lot of resources."

"You shouldn't waste them," Elliot warns.

"I am done talking."

"You haven't done any talking. I haven't asked any questions. Have I?"

"I want a lawyer," he repeats.

"It pisses you off, doesn't it? That she walked away. That she lived? That she couldn't end the life that a monster like you created? You were just trying to do her a favor? Huh? Do what she couldn't do, eighteen years ago. Take the life, that no one wanted to exist?"

"She's a bitch. She should have aborted that baby. Seventeen years later... I am a free man, and... that kid pops up, and starts asking all sorts of questions. I couldn't let her put me away."

"You put yourself away."

"I will never spend a day in prison. They will never convict me."

"Have you seen these pictures?"

"I am sure that my lawyer will have your case thrown out. You had no reason to arrest me. I wasn't breaking any laws."

Elliot turns and looks at Olivia, "Did you read him his rights? Did Fin?"

"No one ever said that he was under arrest. Detective Tutola simply brought him in for questioning, on an unrelated matter. He witnessed a mugging the other day," Olivia answers.

"So I get to the pleasure, of arresting the bastard?"

"Yes," Olivia nods.

Elliot looks at the man on the other side of the table.

"You thought that you had gotten away with it, didn't you?"

He looks past Elliot, at Olivia. "I never thought I'd see her again, in this lifetime."

"I think you'll be seeing a lot of her, at your trial."

"You think they'll put her on the stand? If they do, they will tear her apart."

"She can handle it," Elliot points to the picture on the table, "If she survived that, I think she can handle whatever lies your lawyer comes up with."


End file.
